The Siren song

by keithsterling

Chapter 1

1:00 pm Storm Peak: 200 miles from the City of Canterlot, Land of Equestria, the Equestrian royal air fleet patrol group under the command of Prince Somnus Silverlight, the crash site of unknown schooner airship, aboard the Corona Corvette Royal Airship.

Storm Peak gets its name from the sudden torrential rainstorms that pop-up without the help of Pegasi. It makes it hard for any unprepared airship to navigate safely pass the peak. Because of that, the summit is strewed with wreckage from numerous airships that wanted to take a short cut to the other side of Equestria. Patrol groups from the Equestrian Royal Air Fleet regularly patrol and find new wrecks monthly. This month the job of finding this further wreckage fell to Prince Somnus Silverlight, and his Corvette Royal Airship called the Corona.

"Gunner one and Gunner two load the anchor bolts into heavy crossbows. Make your shots count I want to be away from the peak before the next storm." Somnus orders as two unicorn ponies float with their magic, the two large crossbow bolts into both starboard heavy crossbows with a hemp rope.

"Aye-aye, your highness!" The gunners exclaimed as the two earth pony gunners stand on their back legs and wrap their front hoofs around the triggers of the huge crossbows.

"Ready-aim-fire!" Somnus calls as the two gunners pull the triggers. It shakes the airship for a while as the bolts shoot out of the crossbow.

The bolts embed into the rocks locking in place a group of six earth ponies. On each rope, they begin pulling until the airship is lined up side by side with the wreckage of the other airship and tie it off. Somnus opens a little gate on the starboard side and extends a lightweight wooden bridge to the debris of other airships. He takes it slowly as he crosses over the bridge. Meanwhile, sitting on a small, round, wooden disk on top of the flagship balloon directing the flights of pegasi scouts from each of the three airships, was Lunar Guard Captain Adrian Nightwing.

"Flight leader!" A Pegasi scout says.

"Yes, Lieutenant?" Adrian inquires.

"There's a storm forming quickly; it looks like a nasty one." The Lieutenant reports.

"How long do you think we have, Lieutenant, until the storm forms?" Adrian inquires.

"I would say less than 30 min, Flight leader." The Lieutenant reports.

"All right, Lieutenant calls back all the scouts and ready them for bad weather operations. Plus, inform the pilots that a storm is forming, and it's going to be a bumpy ride." Adrian orders, taking off from the disk and flies down to the ship.

"Pilot! There's a storm forming in less than 30 min! Be ready to steer the airship away from the peak, when the prince gets on!" Adrian yells to the earth pony stallion at the wheel of the airship.

"Aye-aye, Captain!" The pilot yells back, grabbing hold of the ship wheel in front of him after putting on a raincoat.

"Rope teams; get ready to cut the airship free from the peak when the prince gets on board the ship!" Adrian yells to the two groups of earth ponies at each of the ropes.

"Aye-aye, Captain!" the rope teams yell back as they put on raincoats and place a knife against the rope, waiting to cut it free from the bolts.

"Scout team, get ready to deploy!" Adrian yells to the four-member scout team aboard the ship already dressed in bad weather gear.

"Aye-aye, Captain!" the scout team yells back as Prince Somnus crosses back to his airship and pulls the bridge back, floating the ship logbook in his magic bubble.

"I got the logbook from the unknown schooner airship let's get out of here!" Prince Somnus yells as the rope teams cut the ropes, and the pilot starts the propeller of the airship.

A moment later, a strong gust of wind from the storm begins buffing the three corvette patrol ships back and forth, causing the airship's crew to slide across the deck from one end of the vessel to the other.

As the hard rain soaks the wooden deck of the ship, thunder and lightning flash blinding the two Pegasi scouts at the front of the ship, guiding them out of the storm. It's just long enough for three air pirate caravel airships to launch a surprise attack on the patrol fleet.

"Air Pirates!" the pegasi scout yells back to the ship, as the balloon of the Crown Corvette three is popped by the many crossbows bolts that are sticking into it and crashes to the ground in a heap. The pegasi scouts from the Crown Corvette three break off their attack from the pirate pegasi to help their down airship.

"Adrian, quickly fly to the next valley. I know an Equestrian royal air warship is going through its paces today. But I don't know which one brings that warship to help." Prince Somnus orders his pegasi partner Adrian.

"All right, Somnus! I'll bring them to help! Just stay alive till I get back!" Adrian said as she takes to the sky to get help from the other valley and air warship.

3:00 pm White Plain Territory, 100 miles from the City of Canterlot, Land of Equestria, Royal vessel the Solar Prominence.

Meanwhile, in a peaceful valley, anchored to the ground, floating gently in the breeze was a cruiser warship called the Solar Prominence. Relaxing on a chaise lounge in the Captain's quarters, toward the aft of the boat, drinking her afternoon tea was Somnus' mother, Princess Celestia Silverlight. After the longest court day at the palace she ever had, Celestia wanted to get away from the castle to relax for a few hours, putting her cruiser through its paces. It was the best medicine for that.

Celestia playfully chuckles. There's a soft ping as the golden horseshoe she loosens finally falls off her hoof. A moment later, the single ping is followed by three other pings as her other three horseshoes fall off. She stretched her legs a few times and was about to lay her head down to take a nap when the door into the captain's quarters bangs open, causing her to tumble off the chaise lounge. She gets her legs tangled in the curtains behind her, pulling them down, covering her head. As she looks through the thin curtains, she sees the out of breath pegasi mare running toward her.

"Adrian, what is wrong?" The pony tangled in the curtains exclaims as Adrian's eyes blink with surprise with this airship captain calling her by her first name without her permission.

"Do you know me, Captain?! To be calling me by my first name?!" Adrian said hotly as the pony slowly untangles herself from the curtains.

"Of course, I know you." The untangled pony said defensively as she floats the curtains off her head, revealing Princess Celestia.

"Your Highness!" Adrian exclaims when she looks at the face of Somnus' mother, Princess Celestia.

"Your highness! Somnus' corvette patrol fleet is under attack by an air pirate raiding party near Storm Peak, the Crown corvette three has been sunk the other two corvettes are in trouble we need your cruiser!" Adrian explains as Celestia opens her wings and flies out of the hole in the roof that leads onto the pilot deck, followed by Adrian.

"Helm! Lift anchor and follow this Pegasus! (Pointing at Adrian with her bare hoof) the prince is under attack by an air pirate raiding party near Storm Peak one of his airships had been sunk!" Princess Celestia calls as her airship crew leaps to their hoofs.

"Aye! Aye! Your highness!" The entire crew answers as they begin their jobs aboard the ship. The propeller switches on and quickly reaches full power in seconds.

4:00 pm Storm peak: 200 miles from the City of Canterlot, Land of Equestria, the Equestrian royal air fleet patrol group Corona, site of the airborne battle with the Ravager raiding party fleet vs. the Corona Patrol fleet.

Since Prince Somnus sent his partner Lunar Guard Captain Adrian Nightwing to fetch help, the Halo corvette two had held off the three caravels pirate airships with two lucky shots. Corvette two had been able to disable the third caravel pirate airship by knocking out their propellers.

Aboard his corvette, an exhausted Prince Somnus pants endlessly as he pushes his inherited Alicorn magic to its upmost limits to maintain the protection spell on his balloon to keep it from being popped by the pirates' bolts. His front legs buckle first, followed a moment later by his back legs.

On his knees, the dark blue magic aura surrounding his horn begins to flicker on and off; He is coming close to exhausting the last bits of his reserve magic energy. A loud pop can be heard, the shield around his balloon falls as he collapses to the deck of his ship unconscious. As his eyes slowly close, the last image he sees is his ship crew in a general panic as the pirates close in to finish them off.

Suddenly, from the western sky, bursting through the clouds was the prow of a sizeable Equestrian warship, a cruiser. A steady shower of bolts rain down on the balloon of the disabled caravel and quickly sink it. The next attack sinks the second caravel leaving only the pirates flagship. Knowing he's outmatched in sheer firepower, the pirate flagship retreats from the battle. With her front hoofs on the rail of the prow and a huge Cheshire cat smile on her snout, Princess Celestia orders her crew to ceasefire.

Slowly the cruiser pulls alongside the flagship corvette, one of the earth pony crew members on the cruiser toss a corvette crew member a rope and tie it off. Before tying off the other line to keep it in place, a bridge is extended to the corvette to allow the medics from the cruiser to work on the injured crew members. While that was going on, Celestia flies over to the flagship corvette to begin the search for her son to make sure he is ok. Her bare hooves click on the damp wooden deck of the corvette, which is crowded with her son's injured crewmembers. Her medics make it hard for her to spot her son's body in the mess of the other ponies.

"Huh!? Somnus!" Celestia exclaims as she spots her son's body lying lifeless on the deck. She gallops over to him and begins to nudges him with her bare hoof, trying to get a reaction from him.

"Medic!" Celestia calls as a Solar Guard unicorn medic pony runs over to the prince. She floats a stethoscope into her ears and searches for a heartbeat for some time. She then stops searching and shakes her head.

"No!" Celestia shrieks as her legs give-out under her, and she collapses on the deck. She places her front leg across his side and back and then rests her head across his neck as her light purple eyes fill with tears. They stream down her cheeks, soaking his mane.

"I am so sorry, baby I didn't make it in time." Celestia whimpers as she continues to cry at the huge loss of her son. Then in a very soft voice, Somnus's said, 'mommy.' Without another word to her crew, Celestia quickly floats Somnus onto her back and leaps off the corvette spreading her wings as she flies back to Canterlot as fast as she can.

6:27 am the following morning, Canterlot Royal Palace, Royal ward, City of Canterlot, Capital city of Equestria, Private hospital room, Palace hospital.

It has been a long, tense night for Princess Celestia Silverlight. She carried her unconscious son Prince Somnus Silverlight from his Corvette airship near Storm peak on her back to Canterlot for immediate medical treatment at the palace hospital. Celestia has stayed by her son's bedside all night, refusing to rest until he opens his eyes. As the early morning sun rises in the sky, an exhausted Celestia remains glued to her position at Somnus's bedside as a glowing yellow hand caress Somnus's front leg. Slowly the lids of Somnus' eyes open, revealing his blue eyes to the delight of his exhausted mother, whose eyes slowly close as she falls asleep.

A moment later, the door into the private hospital room is opened by a younger unicorn mare the same height as Princess Cadence. She floats her mother, Princess Celestia, onto a nearby hospital bed and covers her with several sheets.

"Mother has stayed by your bedside all night, Somnus," Blueberry explains quietly as she floats a stethoscope into her ears to listen to her brother's heart.

"She refused to sleep until you opened your eyes." Blueberry continued speaking quietly to allow her mother to sleep.

"So what happened, Somnus?" Blueberry inquires quietly floating a blood pressure cuff onto his front leg.

"I had no choice, Blueberry, but to tap into my Alicorn magic to keep my crew safe," Somnus explains softly as Blueberry gawks in disbelief.

"What? You know how dangerous that is, Somnus. You, me, and Aurora are only half Alicorn ponies. To tap into our inherited Alicorn magic costs us a great deal to perform. But that explains a lot to me, and now I know how to help." Blueberry commented, floating the blood pressure monitor back into her saddlebags.

"How so, Blueberry?" Somnus inquires.

"When you tap into your inherited Alicorn magic, you blow out your magic stopper. That explains why mother brought you unconscious and barely alive. It took a long time for you to come to in other words, dear brother; you are a resident patient till your magic stopper repairs itself. It should take a few weeks (pointing her hoof at Somnus), so you can't use any magic." Blueberry explains as she floats the clipboard towards her and writes something on it.